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Parshvanatha in art : various depictions

Parshvanatha is the 23rd Jaina tirthankara. He was born at Varanasi, into a royal family to King Asvasena and his queen Vamadevi of the Ishkvaku dynasty. He renounced the world to become and ascetic at age thirty. He meditated under a Dhaataki tree and attained enlightenment or kevalajnana after 84 days. His first disciples were his mother and wife. He attained moksa on Shikharji after preaching for 70 years, at the age of 100. He was much loved and called purisadaniya.

As per Svetambara texts of Jainism Parshvanatha taught four vows. They are ahimsa,aparigraha, achaurya and satya, The Digambara sect insist on it as including the fifth namely brahmacharya. He had previous births as Marubhuti, a prime minister, and as an elephant named Vajraghosha in the forests of Vindyachal, Sasiprabha, Prince Agnivega. As a prince he saved two snakes who were reborn as Dharnendra and Padmavati who sheltered Parshvanatha from a severe storm sent by Meghamali.

Parshvanatha had thousands of followers; sravakas and sravikas, sadhus(monks) and sadhvis (nuns). and eight ganadharas or chief monks. He is depicted either standing in kayotsarga posture or depicted seated meditating in lotus posture. He has a snake crown; symbolising the protection of Dharnendra and Padmavati.

The biographies of the tirthankaras mainly Mahavira and Parshvanathaare the Kalpasutras and they are depicted in the illustrations relating to incidents in their life or concept-depictions. The images are seen in other Jain texts too, like the one below is from a Jain Sanskrit grammar text, the Siddhahema-shabd-anushasana by Hemachandra.